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I have two papers due before break. (Well, technically one, but I REALLY do NOT want to spend my Fall break thinking about Greek tragedies. Zeus no.)

This comes out to 10-11 pages in total. Welcome to college; I know.

Plus, I really want to see am going to see the One Acts (student written and directed plays that are, you guessed it! One act) on this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night because I've been doing weird things for them like making a loin cloth out of pillowcases and giving pink owl slippers snouts so they look like pigs. I started reading two of them, and literally can not wait to see all the costumes I've been seeing everyday come to life.

I'm not one to stress out, but this is quite the situation, people.

All I can do is listen to the newest Glee songs and dance a little at my desk as I try to get myself to write about Plato and Greek tragedies.

It had oodles of breads, desserts, pastries, and arguably my favorite thing in the world, MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO SANDWICHES! Actually, this one had fancy olives too. It was tres delicieux.

This is the sandwich, half eaten.

We originally set out to find Trader Joe's, but instead we found Food Front, which was pretty nice and had some of my favorite magazines (Martha Stewart Living, Dwell, Bon Appetit, etc.) including McSweeney's, which I had never seen in the flesh before.

Also, FINGER PUPPETS!

And this is just the slightly terrifying Portlandia statue on top of a building.

Love Portland. More and more each day. I am enamoured with the green & DIY scene. (Hey, I can rhyme!)

A blurry picture of me NOT in my natural habitat. This was a trail that Siri and I used a couple of weekends ago to walk to the grocery store near campus. TO THE GROCERY STORE, GUYS!

Yearbook, I miss you so. Is it lame that I explained the theme of the 2011 book to my friends at dinner tonight? DON'T EVEN CARE. I miss it. So very thankful I have something creative to be a part of here (costume shop), or I would be so very empty.

Harry Potter references. All day long. Thank goodness I have friends here that tolerate it and sometimes encourage it.

Let's just pretend the Manor House is Hogwarts, okay?

GLEE!!!!! It's on my mind 24/7 now that it is back. Yesterday I received season 2 on DVD in the mail! It was a delightful surprise. Thank you, Grandma!

Christmas is just around the corner! I am extremely EXCITED. I thouroughly enjoyed watching the Glee Christmas episode last night before I went to sleep. Christmas songs are my drug. I can't wait to overdose the moment it strikes midnight after Thanksgiving. Also, the Christmas Glee episode is the happiest situation ever.

LOOK AT THE KLAINE! Maggie and I give you full permission to watch this even though it's not Christmas song season yet. I guarantee it will lift your spirits.

Why isn't it holiday season yet? Also, I am literally daydreaming about winter break already. Can you say Christmas party?

Today Siri, Regina, and I went downtown to explore and (have the intent to) get some homework done in a cafe. Well, we explored...and it was wet and cold.

After browsing Nordstrom for a while, we hurried out so that we didn't have to deal with the feelings we were having about every other thing we saw. Next we went into Cacao, which didn't help much either. The place was small, but filled with beautifully packaged gourmet chocolates. I decreed that we come back and buy ourselves fancy chocolates for Valentine's Day.

We had fun looking around the shops in Pioneer Place, like J. Crew, H&M, and KATE SPADE! Hooray!

Well. That's me on the sidewalk. In the rain. In the cold, wet rain. This desert dweller is freaking out a little.

Regina understands (she's from CA), but Siri just laughs at us in her one layer of clothes (she's from CO). Also, she understands the necessity of Chipotle. Yum!

When we were turning the corner, a wonderful thing occurred. There on my left was a window that said CRAFTY WONDERLAND. I skipped a little and squealed in excitement because I have read about this place (Blogz, you guyz. Read them). I WAS SO HAPPY! When I went inside, I was not disappointed in the least.

Everything was handcrafted by local artists. Wonderland, indeed! I even purchased two adorable Christmas gifts. Yeah, you better believe I'm already thinking about Christmas. In this cold weather, you can't blame me! Also, SO PSYCHED for their Holiday Sale at the Oregon Convention Center! YESSSS!!!!!

Not too far away, I spotted a store called Button Emporium and Ribbonry. I flipped out! Unfortunately it was closed. Sad news. However, I did spot a vintage shop called Living Thread Vintage, which was small, but crammed with goodies. Most of the pieces weren't really my style, because I tend to prefer brighter colors to darker ones, but perhaps that was just because it was the Fall stock.

Siri's cappuccino was beautiful. She even let me have a spoonful of the foam on top! Now THAT'S a friend. While at the cafe, we only finished an article from our Greek tragedy book for Theatre & Society. Thankfully when we got home tonight we read one of the plays out loud to each other, so yes--today was productive!

Now I am going to get ready for bed, read, and anxiously await Tuesday for GLEEEEEEEE!

It's the third week of school, and things are definitely starting to pick up. After a weekend spent writing a paper for E&D and watching too many episodes of 30 Rock, I dived into my first legitimately busy week. I couldn't be happier! Since I haven't really mentioned my classes yet (I'm just here to go to college, no biggie), I guess I will do that now.

French Oh mon Dieu! As much as I love France and the language, this is the class I look forward to least, because still after five years, I have not gained much confidence in my speaking. It's only an hour-long class though, so it's not too bad. I will get better!

E&D I enjoy E&D, because it reminds me a lot of my AP English classes in high school (on discussion days). We basically sit in a circle and talk about whatever we're reading. It was intimidating at first, because it seemed like everyone understood the texts better than I did, but I've gotten over that for the most part.

Theatre & Society My professor is hilarious, and has a Czech accent (which makes things even funnier). I especially like when he calls that freshmen "fresh people". The class is like E&D, but we talk about plays! We actually read a Greek tragedy that we read in E&D, which made my life easier, and made it more interesting to know about the theatrical aspect.

English I looooooove my English class. Its focus is contemporary literature (1950's-present), which is my personal favorite, because I am so fascinated in the historical context. That's what I love--the history behind a novel. Currently we're finishing up Lolita, which like I've mentioned before, is a super creepy (but a wonderfully written and intriguing) novel.

Theatre Lab For some reason I forgot to write T-Lab on my calendar above, which is funny because I am about to leave for that class... Anyway, T-Lab meets every Wednesday for an hour for lecture, then we do lab hours in either the scene or costume shop throughout the week. Of course I chose the costume shop!

Costume Shop Between work hours and lab hours, I spend every Tuesday-Friday afternoon (starting this week) in the shop, which I adore. It is such a magical thing to be a part of the productions in this way. We've been pulling pieces for the One Acts (which are student written and directed plays) and organizing everything on clothes racks. Today I seam-ripped the sleeves off of shirts (blouses?) for the Main Stage production of Caucasian Chalk Circle and learned how to take suit measurements. The resident designers and director talked to us about the play in T-Lab today, so now I feel especially connected to this afternoon's seam-ripping session. I like that. Thank goodness for this opportunity. It's the closest I've come to filling the void that is yearbook!

My ridiculously talented and beautiful best friend Erin opened up an Etsy shop featuring her adorable knit accessories! You should give put a stitch on it a visit, and check her blog for updates! Christmas is just around the corner...

Labor Day was devoted to reading Lolita for English/getting distracted by my surroundings in the grass behind the Manor House. Correction: In the dirt under one of the trees behind the Manor House. Turns out I am literally allergic to the green stuff. My skin is so sensitive to the damp, intensely green blades of grass that I experience a speckled red reaction up and down my legs. Glamourous!

Before finding my cozy circle of dirt, I allowed myself to enjoy the sunshine. I laid down and closed my eyes and almost fell asleep, but the possibility of getting sunburnt in Port-freaking-land (what a laughingstock I would be in Arizona!) made me finally pry my eyes open and find a safe, itch-free, shady haven. Thankfully there was a huge tree that had some soil around it big enough to fit me and my sad, now grossly patterned legs.

In contrast to the gorgeous surroundings, the content of Lolita made me scrunch my face up in disapproval most of the afternoon. It is a truly detestable story, however beautifully written. It's quite the paradox! Reading Lolita has made me fear for my life and the life of every girl under five feet and of a petite nature. Just so you know the extent of my fright, I might point out that I am the same height (4'10) as Lolita. Eeek! Makes me want to dye my hair gray and pretend to be an old lady. But I digress...

I met a myriad of insects and creatures this afternoon. The bees in particular took a liking to me, of which the feeling was not mutual. I met a dragonfly perching on a few blades of grass, giant flies that I took as bees without my glasses on, and tiny ants and spiders that I didn't mind hanging out on the pages of my book. But mostly I made a ruckus out of sitting stone still humming (okay--squeaking, hollering, yelling) my discomfort when a bee buzzed around me. Note to self: Do not wear sweet-smelling perfume when studying outdoors. Lesson learned.

I am constantly surrounded by giant Christmas trees, and I can't help but want to decorate them with baubles and handmade ornaments. I am Kaylie, and I am continually dumbfounded by this green stuff.

I am happy to tell you that all three goals were accomplished, and then some. After finding my friend some shoes, three of us went exploring.

First stop: Jackpot Records. I loved this place! Usually record stores (although always cool) are a little grimy and grungy, but this one was sweet, colorful, and organized. Lovely!

Second Stop: Lulu's. This is a small vintage shop with so many precious finds! The only problem is that everything is around $30 or more, and I am pretending to be broke because I have college student guilt. Of course I fell in love with a pink gingham romper that was probably the most expensive thing there. C'est la vie.

Little Bird was closed, so Regina yelped "macarons" and we trekked towards the nearest bakery that had macarons, which was Ken's Artisan Bakery. (The above photo has no relevance whatsoever, other than it was taken on our walk there.)

Ken's did not disappoint! Regina and Sarah had their first macaron, and I got my macaron fix for the next couple of weeks or so. (Watching Marie Antoinette last night probably didn't help this craving.)

Happiness is a macaron. Or two.

When we were heading out, we noticed they had just put out a batch of salted caramel coffee macarons. Suffice to say, we will be back.

While walking back to 6th Ave (where the bus stop is) we found a few places of note. The first was Canoe, which I was drawn to by its admirable use of fontage. There's something about a good font that says a lot about the aesthetic of a store.

I fell in love with Canoe and its mix of clean, simple, eclectic, and modern ware from around the world. This is my kind of store.

Passed by a pretty bridal shop and this white shift dress caught my eye. Reminds me of the 60's and Erin's style.

The most heartbreaking moment of our time downtown was this adorable lingerie store being closed on Sundays. Must visit Lille soon, especially because I just realized I've been on the website before when looking at a blog! (I'm such an intense blogger, you guys...it's kind of embarrassing.)

Knit Purl is a cozy knitting shop. Some of the yarns are so delicate and beautiful, that they are up to $60 or more! The most beautiful I saw had bits of gold in it. I wish I could knit!

This is just hilarious. Thankfully I'm getting a better sense of direction, or seeing this would probably make me cry.

If you haven't already figured it out, I have found "my city". Phoenix will always be my home, but Portland is my kindred spirit. I don't know where life will take me (hopefully lots of places), but I do know that I now have two cities where my soul is very happy. Portland is officially my home away from home, and I can't wait to share it with my friends and family ASAP!

Today a few of us went downtown for the Saturday Market and whatnot. I resisted buying 2304982349823904 cute things and found a birthday present for my sister. Here are some silly things I took pictures of there...

The line was up and down the sidewalk, but that's okay, because I went to two meetings the other day that gave us Voodoo Doughnuts. So healthy!

I just can't get enough of this place.

I was a little tempted to buy a cactus (not to mention everything else) at Whole Foods for my dorm. Maybe next time.

MINI MACARONS! We found this adorable place called Little Bird with macarons in their display on our way back to the bus, so I couldn't go in. Hopefully I will be able to go in later this weekend, in addition to another adorable place called Lulu's Vintage and a record store that I also had to pass up (sadface).

In other news, I OFFICIALLY HAVE A JOB. I get to work in the costume shop! How fun is that? I can't wait to start! Life is pretty awesome, but now I need to go do laundry.